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Nursing services manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a nursing services manager. Nursing services managers usually study nursing, business, or health care administration. 44% of nursing services managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 28% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 553 real nursing services manager resumes to see exactly what nursing services manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for nursing services managers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online nursing services manager courses to help get the education required to be a nursing services manager.

There are certain nursing services manager certifications that you should consider. These nursing services manager certifications include Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) and Certified Nurse Educator (CNE).

What education do you need to become a nursing services manager?

What degree do you need to be a nursing services manager?

The most common degree for nursing services managers is bachelor's degree, with 44% of nursing services managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 28% and associate degree degree at 19%.
  • Bachelor's, 44%
  • Associate, 28%
  • Master's, 19%
  • Diploma, 7%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a nursing services manager?

You should major in nursing to become a nursing services manager. 80% of nursing services managers major in nursing. Other common majors for a nursing services manager include business and health care administration.

Most common colleges for nursing services managers

Nursing services managers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, and Indiana Wesleyan University. Here are the most common colleges for nursing services managers in the US based on their resumes.
Nursing services manager common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix21.62%
Grand Canyon University6.76%
Indiana Wesleyan University6.76%
University of Illinois at Chicago5.41%
York College5.41%

Best majors for nursing services managers

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing79.7%
2Business3.5%
3Health Care Administration2.6%
4Nursing Science2.4%
5Psychology2.2%

Best colleges for nursing services managers

The best colleges for nursing services managers are Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University.

A nursing services manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for nursing services managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become nursing services managers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

9. University of California, Irvine

Irvine, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,700

Enrollment

29,722

10. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-state tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

20 best online courses for nursing services managers

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1. Introduction to Integrative Nursing

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This course is designed for nurses who are drawn to practice in a different way – nurses who value whole-person care and know that the essence of nursing practice is truly caring and healing. You will learn about the principles and practices of Integrative Nursing and how you can be a healing presence to all you serve. Then, you will do an integrative assessment and apply the principles of Integrative Nursing to improve symptom management and overall patient outcomes. Finally, you will explore...

2. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...

3. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course

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Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...

4. Customer Service Basics: Improve your Service now

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The basic golden rules to kickstart your service...

5. Engaging in Service Innovation and Management

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This course is the continuation of "Introduction to Service Innovation and Management". If you have not yet taken "Introduction to Service Innovation and Management", it is recommended that you complete that course prior to this course. The foundational knowledge and project plan from the introduction are carried through in this deeper dive into service innovation and management. This course will give you tools to examine initial plans for healthcare service/process redesign. You will be...

6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

7. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

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Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

8. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

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Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

9. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare

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This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...

10. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

11. Operational Risks Management ORM

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Operational Risks Management ORM Case Studies for Risk Management, Compliance, Audit, IS Security, Banking Professionals...

12. SQL Server Reporting Services Part 2 (SSRS)

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SQL Server Reporting Services Part 2 (SSRS): Deployment, Security, Report Builder, Mobile Report Publisher...

13. Nursing Informatics Leadership Theory and Practice

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“By the end of this Course, you will be able to…” • Evaluate effective leadership styles for leadership in nursing informatics in clinical or academic contexts to improve leadership success. • Discover core values that support effective nursing informatics leadership in academic and clinical contexts to inform development of a personal leadership mission statement. • Discover competing values and polarities related to knowledge leadership and management to promote successful leadership...

14. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

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This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

15. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

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Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

16. Windows Service Programming, Debugging, Installing in C#.Net

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Windows Service Tutorial: How to Create Windows Services in C# .Net/Visual Studio, Windows Service debugging techniques...

17. Outstanding Customer Service - The Ultimate Guide!

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Unlocking the Powerful Secrets of OUTSTANDING Customer Service - Transform Your Business!...

18. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

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Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

19. Performance appraisal: Manager's guide to performance review

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Discover how to encourage development so that each person in your team achieves their full potential...

20. Performance Management: Build a High Performing Team

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Transform the way you manage your teams performance...

Top 10 most affordable universities for nursing services managers

The most affordable schools for nursing services managers are University of Florida, baruch college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for nursing services managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for nursing services managers.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

9. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

10. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for nursing services managers

The hardest universities for nursing services managers to get into are Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University.

Some great schools for nursing services managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for nursing services managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

4. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

7. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,456

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

10. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for nursing services managers

The easiest schools for nursing services managers to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and barry university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a nursing services manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for nursing services managers.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

4. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

5. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

6. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

7. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

8. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

9. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

10. University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,020

Average nursing services manager salary by education level

Nursing services managers with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $129,086 annually. With a Master's degree, nursing services managers earn a median annual income of $110,815 compared to $98,463 for nursing services managers with an Bachelor's degree.
Nursing services manager education levelNursing services manager salary
Master's Degree$110,815
Bachelor's Degree$98,463
Doctorate Degree$129,086
Some College/ Associate Degree$89,532

Nursing services manager education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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